Sorry A Bunch Of Your Friends Died In A Protest, But Don’t Even Think Of Crying About It During Our Party

The Ukraine Olympic Committee said this morning that it “shares deep pain over the loss of fellow countrymen,” and requested permission for its athletes to wear black armbands as an “expression of sorrow and sympathy.”

The IOC said no, citing the Olympic charter which bans political statements of any kind. Their definition of “political” is expansive—The IOC already nixed stickers honoring the late Canadian skier Sarah Burke, and reprimanded Norwegian skiers for wearing black armbands commemorating the death of a teammate’s brother.

So to recap, awarding the Olympic Games to regimes like Russia and China with their glimmering human rights records and histories of honesty and virtue? Fine. Simple, symbolic expressions of genuine grief? Get bent.

Sometimes it’s really hard to separate what the Olympics are supposed to be all about from what the Olympics are increasingly truly all about.

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